


it's sensational that you are next to me

by ifimightchime



Category: bare: A Pop Opera - Hartmere/Intrabartolo
Genre: 2004 off-Broadway canon Bare, Boys In Love, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Canon, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23357950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifimightchime/pseuds/ifimightchime
Summary: Peter's sick, and that means cuddly, and Jason's not about to stop him.(It's just gratuitous pre-canon sickfic fluff, that's all there is to see here.)
Relationships: Jason McConnell/Peter Simmonds
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	it's sensational that you are next to me

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: being sick  
> Title: _Next to Me_ by Alan Cumming
> 
> As stated in the tags, I take characterization and backstory from the 2004 version of Bare, the one with Michael Arden and John Hill. I'm not really familiar with any other version, so I'm not sure how well anything I write jives with other actors' interpretations or any later script changes.

Peter gets dramatic when he's sick. Peter gets dramatic about a lot of things, like when he thinks he's going to fail a class, when they argue, and on the rare occasion his dad calls, so it probably shouldn't be all that notable, but there's a _specific_ kind of drama that comes with being sick. It hasn't changed since they first started rooming together, though Jason thinks maybe it's gotten worse since they started -- well, now that they're. What they are. Maybe because part of the dramatics have always been about wanting attention, and Peter is less hesitant about demanding his attention these days, whether he's sick or not.

He gets away after practice faster than usual with the not-actually-a-lie that he needs to make sure Peter gets up for dinner, because Jason will be the one hearing him bitch all night if he misses it. By the time he gets there, Peter's cocooned himself in every blanket their room has, which is expected; but he's done it in _Jason_ 's bed, which is new.

He can just about make Peter's face out from the gap in the blankets as it directs itself to the door. "You're back early," he says, voice a little scratchy.

"Thought I'd see how you were doing. Is there something wrong with your bed?" Jason isn't thinking of anything but the practical parts of what there is to deal with - well, maybe worrying, a little, because if Peter's throwing up or something, it means he's in pretty bad shape - until he stops shifting mid-wriggle.

"No," Peter says after a second, sounding shiftier than expected, but not exactly like he's lying. Jason takes him at his word, dumps his stuff on Peter's bed and goes to sit on the edge next to his blanket-covered lump of a roommate. After a second the wriggling resumes and Peter's hand appears over the edge of blankets, dragging them down so his face an aren't covered anymore.

Jason shifts to pull a leg up onto the bed, holding an arm out in invitation, and Peter doesn't hesitate to take it, rolling himself over to rest his head on Jason's leg, his face half-hidden pressed into Jason's stomach. He lets his hand settle in Peter's hair, stroking it out of his face, and doesn't bother to hide his smile. He's not going to tell him -- Peter would probably complain, right now -- but despite his bursts of grumpiness when sick, the needy, cuddly part is pretty cute.

"I just missed you," Peter finally mutters, sounding reluctant to say it, and Jason's grin grows.

"Missed you too," he admits, and that satisfies Peter, who curls himself in even closer to Jason's body and settles there. The comfortable silence that settles between them is nice, and Jason lets himself zone out a little bit, still running his fingers through Peter's hair. He'll have to break it soon, figure out if Peter's taken anything, if he's up to dinner or needs something brought to him, but that... that's kind of nice too, thinking about taking care of Peter. There's a picture that flashes through his head, the kind he doesn't let himself dwell on but that still come to him once in a while, usually late at night, but it's there anyway -- the idea of some little place somewhere nobody they know can find them, bringing Peter soup and books when he gets sick and bored, of being able to sit there and distract him with simple touches without keeping one ear out for somebody knocking on the door--

"What?" Peter asks, and Jason blinks himself out of the thought and glances down to find Peter looking up at him, smiling a little despite how tired he clearly is.

"Nothing," he says, and bends down to kiss Peter's forehead when he looks like he's about to say something else.


End file.
